Sales of a particular product or service may be based upon how well that product or service is marketed to a consumer. One form of marketing is a coupon, typically in paper form, for a discount toward the product or service. Some coupons may be retailer specific, for example, only redeemable for the discount at a particular retailer, while other coupons may be product specific from a manufacturer and redeemable at any retailer.
A coupon, while typically in paper form, may be in digital form and may be referred to a digital promotion. A digital promotion may be selected or “clipped” via a mobile phone and saved to a digital wallet for redemption at a point-of-sale (POS) terminal, for example. A typical coupon is applicable to a given product and has a redeemable value that may vary based upon the quantity of a given item, size of the product in terms of packaging, and/or the price point of the given item.
One particular type of discount or promotion is a flash sale. A flash sale is a discount or promotion offered, for a relatively short period of time compared to other discounts or promotions. Generally, the quantity of available discounts or available products is limited, which corresponds to relatively higher than typical promotional values. The shortened time frame for redemption of the promotions may play to a consumer's impulse response, that is the customer may purchase the product as an impulse purchase.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,660,892 to Subhan, for example, discloses generating a coupon that has a time of validity that is much shorter than conventional coupons thus achieving an immediate call to action. U.S. Patent Application No. 2008/0275786 to Gluck discloses a countdown timer for a given online incentive. U.S. Patent Application No. 2013/0254007 to Cockcroft discloses a flash sale system in which users are ranked.